Nilagang Baka (boiled beef), sukiyaki style

The idea for the dish was something I picked up a few months ago from In My Kitchen. The dish was called Beef Shanks Braised In Soy Sauce With Cinnamon And Star Anise which, to me, appeared to be something between Japanese sukiyaki and our own bulalo.

To cook this dish, I refrained from including strongly-flavored vegetables like pechay. I decided to stick with neutral and sweetish vegetables so that they wouldn’t compete with the sukiyaki style broth. My choices were potatoes (neutral enough), cabbage and carrots (sweet). I also used stewing beef cubes instead of cross cuts of bulalo (shanks). The result? If you think that the photo looks delicious, the cooked dish tasted better than it looks in the photo.

All the ingredients in this dish are native to the Philippines. They are available in any wet market or supermarket. So, if you find nilagang baka (boiled beef and vegetables) too plain and boring, try cooking it with a twist–season the broth as though you were making sukiyaki.

Ingredients :

750 g. of stewing beef cubes (shanks, short ribs or neck would be good)
1/2 head of cabbage
1/2 kilo of potoes
2 small carrots
1 whole garlic
2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, peeled
1 whole onion
salt
1/4 c. of light soy sauce
3 tbsps. of light brown sugar
2 tbsps. of finely chopped sibuyas na mura (onion leaves)
1 egg (optional)

Cooking procedure :

Place the beef in a casserole and cover with water. Add the whole garlic, whole onion and ginger. Season with a little salt. Bring to a boil, skimming the scum as it rises. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the beef is very tender. Alternatively, pressure-cook for about an hour from the time the valve starts to turn.

Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and carrots, and cut into chunks about the size of the beef cubes. Cut the cabbage into quarters.

When the beef is tender, scoop out of the broth with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl. Strain the broth.

Reheat the broth and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, carrots and cabbage and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until done. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Season the broth with soy sauce and sugar. Add more salt, if you prefer. Return the beef to the broth and bring to a boil. Return the vegetables to the broth and, again, bring to a boil.

To serve: Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the beef cubes from the broth and place on one side of a soup tureen. Do the same with the rest of the vegetables, arranging them so that the ingredients are segregated. Pour hot broth over them. Crack an egg at the center and sprinkle with chopped onion leaves. Serve at once.